Snapshots of the Past

[Yakusha sangoku shi] – Vintage Print

[Yakusha sangoku shi], [between 1820 and 1831] — historic print
[Yakusha sangoku shi], [between 1820 and 1831]. Historic print from the Japanese Prints collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

A window into the past: [Yakusha sangoku shi], preserved in this historic print. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

[Yakusha sangoku shi]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Two sheets from a three-volume illustrated book, *Yakusha fūzoku sangokushi*, which is usually dated to 1831, show Japanese actors in a style that drew on the popular theater of the day. The title's reference to "three countries," a phrase tied to a traditional Japanese view of the wider world, signals a work meant to be as ambitious as it was entertaining. Kabuki actors were among the most recognizable figures in Edo-period culture, and their portraits were sold and collected as a kind of celebrity merchandise. The Library of Congress received the pair as a gift in 1905.

Created / published[between 1820 and 1831]
Medium2 prints : woodcut, color.
Genreorganized by the Library of Congress, 2001.
NotesTitle and other information based on entry for item in exhibition catalog. Illustrations in: Yakusha fūzoku sangokushi. Jō no maki. Furoku / Hanagasa Gaishi shū. [Osaka?] : Bunkindō zō, Tenpō shinbō [1831] shinsen. Vol. 1 of 3. The Floating world of Ukiyo-e: shadows, dreams and substance / essays by Sandy Kita ... [et al.]. New York: Harry N. Abrams, in association with the Library of Congress, 2001, no. 61, p. 118 and 119. Gift; Crosby Stuart Noyes; 1905. Exhibited: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e: shadows
SubjectsActors--Japanese--1820-1850.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,530 × 3,664 px · prints to 15 × 12 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-222060

More from the Japanese Prints collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

Kinhyōshi yōrin, hero of the SuikodenKinhyōshi yōrin, hero of the SuikodenSawamura Sōjūrō no Ichihōshi Ōtomo Hitatinosuke Yamatogawa Tomigorō no Sukewaka YonosukeSawamura Sōjūrō no Ichihōshi Ōtomo Hitatinosuke Yamatogawa Tomigorō no SukPatterned silk object with red tassels on paperPatterned silk object with red tassels on paperInk landscape with mountain, pine trees, boat and pierInk landscape with mountain, pine trees, boat and pierTwo court women in an open Japanese woodblock-style bookTwo court women in an open Japanese woodblock-style book[Yamaotoko I][Yamaotoko I]